Within the mass of enthusiastic fans at San Diego's Comic-Con International, there is always a selection of notable attendees who are dressed to impress both fellow nerds and fashionistas. These attendees straddle the line between couture and cosplay, putting their own stylish twist on a classic costume design or re-imagining mere objects of nerdy pop culture as wearable apparel (such as Jennifer Landa's ingenious Death Star dress). These are the fans who stand out from the sea of swag t-shirts and booth girls in the crowded exhibit halls, and we've assembled some of the most stylish and clever outfits spotted at Comic-Con.
1940's Captain America, photographed by Judy Stephens
This Captain America ensemble successfully combines the classic elements of 1940's pin-up culture (the corset, bustier and garters) and army uniform accents (wool socks, utility belt, and helmet), while sticking to the classic 1940's Captain America motif.
Alex based her outfit on bloodymariathefirst's Batman Pin-up redesign and modified a grey corset into a Bat-corset. Juli's Wonder Woman-inspired infinity dress was created by their friend Tory Depew.
One of my favorite things about the Doctor Who fandom is the influx of Doctor Who-inspired outfits and costumes that are both cute and clever. This mini-capelet/poncho in the style of the TARDIS is no exception, and also stands out from all of the TARDIS dresses at Comic-Con this year!
Darth Vader, worn by Andrea, photographed by Molly McIsaac
Andrea's Vader is not only stylish and chic, but also contains an electronic chest box and belt boxes. Not gonna lie, I'd totally wear that belt everyday.
Burlesque Wonder Woman, photographed by merhawk
The textured gold metal wristbands coordinate perfectly with the articulated gold accents in this burlesque redesign of Wonder Woman. I also love how those red Victorian boots work in place of Wonder Woman's classic red and white boots.
Kicking it old school with a handmade tube dress created to resemble a Gameboy with matching Tetris-jewelry.
A gorgeous high-waisted circle skirt (with a matching bolero) created out of Iron Man bed sheets.
This group's '50s translation of Gotham was impeccable. Catwoman looks like a legit cool cat in her beatnik ensemble, while Poison Ivy's wiggle dress would totes make Christina Hendricks green with envy. The varsity sweaters on Batman, Batgirl, and Harley Quinn are simple yet effective (note: the lovely faint embroidered Bat-symbol on Batgirl's sweater). Who knew that Gotham could be so peachy keen?
I've always thought that the villains of the Powerpuff Girls would be a great source of inspiration for a fashion collection, so I was thrilled when I spotted this cute, simple Mojo Jojo-inspired ensemble.
A cute Star Wars dress created from The Empire Strikes Back bed sheets and even cuter Ewok earrings to match.
These Doctor Who-inspired lolita coordinates are too cute! But seriously, there really should be a legit Doctor Who fashion show event at the convention.
Wolverine, photographed by Docking Bay 93
Although this is more on the cosplay end of the spectrum, this bodysuit could totally work as an incredibly wearable Wolverine swimsuit that I could see myself wearing to the beach (or to the hotel pool post-convention hours). Get on it, Marvel.
One thing that I spotted at least a dozen times during the convention were attendees in outfits constructed primarily out of the official San Diego Comic-Con swag bags from Warner Bros. Since I've always found the extra-large Comic-Con bags too unwieldy to carry around, I'd love to challenge myself to create something wearable out of the leftover bags from this year.
OwenKL
17 Comments